Lead Technical Artist

ABOUT THIS POSITION

Digital Extremes is looking for a Lead Technical Artist. As the Lead Technical Artist you will be working among a range of industry veterans and relative newcomers, each intent on making the best experience possible for our devoted community of players.
Our studio has multiple projects ranging from a long standing IP which is approaching its tenth anniversary, and a brand new IP just starting development and looking to push artistic and technical boundaries.
We are looking for a motivated, talented, and driven Lead Technical Artist to join our ranks and help to organize our talented technical art team on these projects as well as contribute in the creation of our games.
We move quickly to develop and deliver fantastic experiences to our players and due to that fact we are always looking for ways to improve our tools, our pipeline, our practices and our own experiences.
We want to make great looking, great playing games and have fun doing so. You and the technical art team will help to make that happen.
As a Lead Technical Artist you will find yourself collaborating with many other departments such as fx, code, animation, level art and level design among others and you should be comfortable doing so. Practical experience across other departments is a big asset.
You will also be called upon to provide support in the scheduling and managing of both projects and personnel within the Technical Art team. In this role you will be required to have a thorough knowledge of not only your specific assignments but of the project as a whole and work to ensure that you and your team meet milestones and production deadlines.
Personnel management duties will include, performance reviews, employment interviews, mentoring and other related managerial tasks.
You must have genuine enthusiasm and interest in video games combined with strong oral and written communication skills and must provide a portfolio of your work that demonstrates an understanding of both artistic and technical fundamentals and be able to discuss these effectively.
You must also possess the ability to lead by example and keep the interests of your team aligned with the interests of our projects.

RESPONSIBILITIES
- Lead a small yet dedicated team of Technical Artists on our two projects
- Work with existing tools and processes while looking for ways to make improvements and help us become better artists and developers
- Collaborate with artists, engineers and designers to ensure effective integration of art, game design, performance and technology
- Work as a team member with production and development, promoting creative thinking processes within the team and integrating their input to translate the game vision into gameplay reality
- Help to assess and provide insights into making better performing levels within our games
- Contribute innovative and original ideas toward all aspects of the game’s production and development, including but not limited to process, pipelines and tools
- Deliver work on time and according to schedule as prepared by the production team
- Engage with the entire production team to stay current on the scope and understanding of the project
- Actively participate in the feedback loop to both provide and accept constructive feedback as it pertains to the technical and artistic elements of the game
- Multitask effectively, prioritize competing demands, and trouble-shoot any issues relative to the role that may arise
- Mentor and guide junior Technical Artists and provide feedback when necessary

**REQUIREMENTS**:

- College diploma or University degree
- A minimum of 5 years as a technical artist and will have shipped two or more titles in this role. Experience in the creation of game art and a strong understanding of game engine fundamentals including performance optimization, and game engine tools
- A portfolio of your own work which demonstrates a diverse range of abilities both artistic and technical
- The ability to learn new software quickly, including our proprietary game engine
- Exemplary oral and written communication skills
- A genuine enthusiasm and interest in video games
- Practical experience using project management software such as Jira, BaseCamp, Slack etc.
- A positive outlook and attitude toward collaboratively working with people and teams toward the common goal of developing a meaningful experience for our audience

PREFERRED EXTRAS
- Previous practical experience successfully leading small to medium sized teams and projects
- Advanced level modeling and texturing experience in Maya or 3DSMax, ZBrush, Substance Painter or Design and Photoshop
- High level proficiency in scripting languages, programming languages, shader languages etc

ABOUT DIGITAL EXTREMES

Founded in 1993 by James Schmalz, Digital Extremes ranks as one of the world's top independent video game development studios. Originating with the co-creation of Epic Games' multi-million unit selling Unreal® franchise including Unr